Bompas & Parr’s latest immersive installation, a London townhouse transformed into a buzzing hive with bee-related activities.
The Joy of Bees was a two-day tasting experience of honey and an art installation held in London’s Soho district. The event celebrated the importance of the bees for humanity and the nuances of the love produced by 29 Relais & Chateaux hotels. All ticket proceeds were donated to the British Beekeepers Association.
Mellifera, the Queen of Honey, wafted through Polynesia – a fragrant indoor flower garden – offering guests a Pomaceous Primer (a malic acid-based palette cleanser) before escorting them to the Salon of Honey in golden hues on the third level. Sarah Wyndham Lewis, resident “honey sommelier” from Bermondsey Street Bees, led a tasting of the rarest honey in the world. The color and consistency of the darlings vary from one pot to another, with some tasting like lemon curd while others are as dark as treacle.
The latest project of MIT Media Lab’s Mediated Matter Group, Synthetic Apiary, explores the impact honeybees have on the global food supply. The group previously investigated the possibility of enhancing existing design techniques using biological processes.
The installation, which is climate-controlled, was designed to be the ideal environment for bees and their behavior. The organizers state that the long-term objective is to integrate biological knowledge into a new type of architectural environment and, thus, the city.
